Abstract

A whale baby female sperm whale, Physeter macrocephakis Linnaeus measuring 3.71 m and weighing about 700 kg was stranded on18th December, 1988 at Samnathanpettai
near Nagapattinam . Another sperm whale was found dead and washed ashore at Vizhunthamavadi near Nagapattinam on 18th January, 1991. The stranded
sperm whale was an young female of 9.70 m weighing about 5 tonnes and estimated to be
around five years old.